People who eat a Mediterranean-style diet are able to significantly lower their risk of suffering from heart disease and stroke, new research confirms.
According to findings published in the American Heart Associations journal Circulation, an assessment of this diets effectiveness at cutting disease risk yielded “dramatic results.”
As part of the study, researchers looked at the dietary habits of more than 74,000 women over two decades.
They found those who ate a diet high in monounsaturated fats, plant proteins, whole grains and fish (markers of a Mediterranean diet) were 29 percent less likely to develop heart disease and 13 percent less likely to have a stroke.
The Americans in the study did not have to eat exactly like Italians or Greeks to be labeled as “Mediterranean” eaters, the scientists said. Instead, their eating habits had to display a similar breakdown of nutrients and fats.
Lead author Teresa T. Fung said this type of diet may be “one of the easiest to follow” because you dont have to cut out any foods in particular.
“You can eat red meat, beef and pork only once or twice a month, eat fish at least once a week and eat more chicken,” she added.